Less than two weeks after winning his first Academy Award for his performance in The Revenant, actor Leonardo DiCaprio has reportedly dropped his Oscar statuette in the La Brea Tar Pits.

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According to witnesses, the A-lister arrived at the natural asphalt pools in a limousine Monday afternoon and loudly announced that he wanted to show everyone there his award. Impeccably dressed in a Giorgio Armani tuxedo, DiCaprio then spent the next two hours walking up to tourists and showing them the Oscar, explaining to each of them that the award is “made of real gold, and weighs 100 pounds.”

Once there were no more tourists to interact with, DiCaprio declared that he wanted to look at the tar up close, sources close to the movie star confirmed. He then crouched down near one of the pools, bringing his face within inches of the viscous, bubbling liquid. It was at this moment that the Oscar statuette slipped from his grasp and plunged irretrievably into the tar.

Distressed, DiCaprio reportedly called 911 several dozen times in the ensuing minutes, but emergency services were unable to assist him in recovering his award.

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“Mr. DiCaprio did indeed drop his Oscar statuette into the La Brea Tar Pits earlier today, and he asks that the media respect his privacy during this difficult time,” said a spokesman for the actor. “Though he is devastated to have lost something he spent over 20 years trying to win in less than 20 days, he vows to try his best to win another Oscar to replace the one that fell into the tar.”

Poor Leo. You hate to see this happen to such a widely respected guy, but here’s hoping that he can bounce back and deliver even greater performances in years to come!